Murali Vijay presented an exceptional temperament to defy all odds and score his first overseas Test ton against England in the first Test at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. India lost key wickets at regular intervals but Vijay held the innings together.

Vijay started India’s tour on a bright note scoring three consecutive boundaries in the first over of the innings against James Anderson. After the first over of play he had raced up to 39 with nine boundaries. However he was tested with some short balls after that but he refused to give in. At the end of the first session he was unbeaten on 55.

It was a testing time for India post lunch when they lost the wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli. He then shared a 70-run stand with Ajinkya Rahane to take India to safety at tea. However, Rahane was dismissed soon after tea but Vijay continued fluently. He had to spend a long time on 99 until he got to his ton sprinting for single.